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Black Narcissus poster

Movies that feel likeBlack Narcissus (1947)

A group of Anglican nuns, led by Sister Clodagh, are sent to a mountain in the Himalayas. The climate in the region is hostile and the nuns are housed in an odd old palace. They work to establish a school and a hospital, but slowly their focus shifts. Sister Ruth falls for a government worker, Mr. Dean, and begins to question her vow of celibacy. As Sister Ruth obsesses over Mr. Dean, Sister Clodagh becomes immersed in her own memories of love.

If you loved Black Narcissus, the closest films we have are East of Eden (1955), Floating Weeds (1959) and After the Wedding (2006). All three share Black Narcissus' contemplative and romantic feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Day of Wrath (1943).

🍅 100% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7.7 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Emeric Pressburgercontemplativeromantic
7 of 12 streaming nowHBO Max · Criterion Channel · Sundance Now

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If Black Narcissus hit the spot, these will too

East of Eden poster
East of Eden
1955 · dir. Elia Kazan
🍅 86%★ 7.8drama

Contemplative and romantic in the same breath

In the Salinas Valley in and around World War I, Cal Trask feels he must compete against overwhelming odds with his brother for the love of their father. Cal is frustrated at every turn, from his reaction to the war, how to get ahead in business and in life, and how to relate to his estranged mother.

Floating Weeds poster
Floating Weeds
1959 · dir. Yasujirō Ozu
🍅 96%★ 7.9dramaMax

Both lean on stillness more than on drama

A theater troupe master's visit with his old flame unintentionally sets off a chain of unexpected events with devastating consequences.

After the Wedding poster
After the Wedding
2006 · dir. Susanne Bier
🍅 87%★ 7.7drama

Common ground: india

The difference: 59 years apart, and the 2000s show

A manager of an orphanage in India is sent to Copenhagen, Denmark, where he discovers a life-altering family secret.

A Matter of Life and Death poster
A Matter of Life and Death
1946 · dir. Emeric Pressburger
🍅 97%★ 8romance · fantasy · drama

The same hand behind both of them: Emeric Pressburger

The difference: Sits closer to romance than Black Narcissus does

A British wartime aviator who cheats death must argue for his life before a celestial court, hoping to prolong his fledgling romance with an American girl.

The Quiet Girl poster
The Quiet Girl
2022 · dir. Colm Bairéad
🍅 97%★ 7.7drama

Romantic drama, and it commits to that

A quiet, neglected girl is sent away from her dysfunctional family to live with relatives for the summer. She blossoms in their care, but in this house where there are meant to be no secrets, she discovers one.

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag poster
Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
2013 · dir. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
🍅 75%★ 8.2drama

Drama built on stillness, twice over

The difference: The critics' underdog of the pair

The true story of the "Flying Sikh" world champion runner and Olympian Milkha Singh who overcame the massacre of his family, civil war during the India-Pakistan partition, and homelessness to become one of India's most iconic athletes.

Yi Yi poster
Yi Yi
2000 · dir. Edward Yang
★ 8.1drama

The shared currency is romance

Each member of a family in Taipei asks hard questions about life's meaning as they live through everyday quandaries. NJ is morose: his brother owes him money, his mother is in a coma, his wife suffers a spiritual crisis when she finds her life a blank and his business partners make bad decisions.

The Sea Inside poster
The Sea Inside
2004 · dir. Alejandro Amenábar
🍅 85%★ 7.9drama

The drama is handled with the same confidence

Ramón Sampedro is a ship mechanic and part-time poet left a quadriplegic following a diving accident. Ramón fought for 30 years for the legal right to end his own life. He develops close relationships with his long-term lawyer Julia and his friend Rosa, who tries to convince him that his life is worth living. Despite his situation, Ramón manages to inspire those around him to live life to the fullest.

Day of Wrath poster
Day of Wrath
1943 · dir. Carl Theodor Dreyer
🍅 100%★ 8drama · history

Drama of the same temperament

The difference: Leans harder into history than Black Narcissus does

In a Danish village in the early 1600s, a young woman named Anne, whose mother was thought to be a witch, develops sympathy toward an old woman, Marte, who is accused of witchcraft. The intervention of Anne's older but kindly husband, Pastor Absalon saved her mother -- but now, urged on by his overbearing mother, he refuses to help Marte. When Absalon's son returns home and is attracted to Anne, it's a matter of time before her family destiny catches up with her.

Great Expectations poster
Great Expectations
1946 · dir. David Lean
🍅 100%★ 7.8drama · romanceMax

Both know what they want from drama

In this Dickens adaptation, orphan Pip discovers through lawyer Mr. Jaggers that a mysterious benefactor wishes to ensure that he becomes a gentleman. Reunited with his childhood patron, Miss Havisham, and his first love, the beautiful but emotionally cold Estella, he discovers that the elderly spinster has gone mad from having been left at the altar as a young woman, and has made her charge into a warped, unfeeling heartbreaker.

Splendor in the Grass poster
Splendor in the Grass
1961 · dir. Elia Kazan
🍅 75%★ 7.7drama · romance

Both are built on the same subject: forbidden love

A fragile Kansas girl's unrequited and forbidden love for a handsome young man from the town's most powerful family drives her to heartbreak and madness.

Letter from an Unknown Woman poster
Letter from an Unknown Woman
1948 · dir. Max Ophüls
🍅 100%★ 7.8drama · romance

Both working the same drama territory

A pianist about to flee from a duel receives a letter from a woman he cannot remember. As she tells the story of her lifelong love for him, he is forced to reinterpret his own past.

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The best-reviewed films that share Black Narcissus’ defining feeling.